by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Is it March yet? Hardly. With the NCAA tournament far in the rearview mirror and Midnight Madness creeping up, USA TODAY Sports examines several story lines for every major conference heading into the 2013-14 college basketball season.

In spite of all the shake up to the sport as a result of conference realignment, there are still plenty of truths for the upcoming season:

-- The new Big East, now made up of the Catholic 7 and three other basketball-only schools, won't be on the same pedestal that the old Big East was.

-- Likewise, the former Big East - the American Athletic Conference - won't quite be there either.

-- And the Atlantic Coast Conference, the biggest beneficiary of realignment, will be very, very good.

The best of the broken-up Big East is now in the ACC. So here is one more not-so-bold prediction: The ACC will be the best power conference in the coming season. The league already featured Duke and North Carolina and adds former Big East heavyweights Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

Members of the Big Ten may argue otherwise. The league has been glorified as the best conference in the country over the past few seasons and will undoubtedly still be in the running for that title.

Last season wasn't exactly a benchmark year for the ACC that had its champion beaten in the Sweet 16 and blue-blood Duke blitzed in the second half of an Elite Eight game. Nevertheless, the ACC will be one of the most entertaining leagues in the country. Here's a look at the most enticing plots heading into the season.

How will the new teams adjust? Seeing Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim representing the ACC will take some getting used to for fans, yet there's no reason to expect a lengthy transition for the new teams, including Notre Dame (returning Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins) and Pittsburgh (returning Lamar Patterson). "I think we're going to become the deepest and most powerful basketball conference," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. Syracuse returns C.J. Fair (14.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and will be expected to contend with Duke for the league title.

Can the teams on the rise contend? Last year, Miami moved to the top of the league to win the regular season and tournament ACC titles, finishing ahead of stalwarts Duke and North Carolina and projected contender North Carolina State. Virginia is a team that has the same potential, led by Joe Harris (16.2 ppg) and Akil Mitchell (13.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg). The Cavaliers spent much of last season on the NCAA tournament bubble but could never establish consistency before settling for the NIT. Maryland is another sleeper team that was on the bubble last season. Coach Mark Turgeon lost Alex Len but top catalyst Dez Wells comes back and the Terrapins add four-star point guard Roddy Peters to the mix.

How many ACC teams make the NCAA tournament? After only shipping four teams to the NCAA tournament last season in a down year, the conference could almost double that margin this season. The educated guess is between six and seven bids. Duke, Syracuse, North Carolina and Notre Dame should be locks. Virginia and Maryland should escape the bubble. But how good will Pittsburgh be with an inexperienced team? And can projected middle-of-the-pack teams Georgia Tech, Florida State, N.C. State take a big step? Time will tell, as the league could attain the country's top RPI for the first time since 2009. That'd be a big boost for borderline NCAA teams.

Which team wins the league? Duke is the favorite, and it's not because the Blue Devils have tons of returning talent. What coach Mike Krzyzewski does bring in is one of the best transfers in Hood and the No. 2 recruit in Parker, as both versatile players should complement returnees Cook and Sulaimon well. But this surely will be a close race. Assuming Hairston is suspended for a prolonged period, North Carolina has some of the top returning talent in the league and their late-season momentum should carry over into 2013-14. And let's not forget newcomers Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, either. Teams such as Virginia and Maryland (even more so) will need to establish consistency to contend.

Scott Gleeson, a national college basketball writer/producer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.